Avto edges clear, Macek scores again. November 15 round-up
Brooks Macek scored for the seventh game in a row as Avtomobilist beat Barys to move clear at the top of the Eastern Conference. Closest rival Salavat Yulaev lost in overtime at home to Sochi, while Metallurg keeps pace with the leaders thanks to a 4-2 success against Sibir. In the West, SKA bounced back after its losses on the road, beating Dinamo Minsk thanks to two power play goals from Dmitrij Jaskin. CSKA blanked in-form Admiral with young goalie Vsevolod Skotnikov claiming a second career shut-out.
Improving Sochi edges out Salavat Yulaev
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 HC Sochi 4 OT (1-1, 1-1, 1-1, 0-1)
Struggling Sochi is showing signs of improvement under new head coach Sergei Svetlov. The basement team is proving a more competitive opponent and, after snapping its long losing streak last week, added a second win in three games with a dramatic success at high-flying Salavat Yulaev.
The home team, meanwhile, is suffering something of a slump. After reaching the Eastern Conference summit, Viktor Kozlov’s players have lost their last three games. The bigger picture is scarcely more encouraging: today was a fifth defeat in seven games.
Sochi deserved the win. The visitor was undaunted by its illustrious opponent and led three times in regulation. Timur Khafizov opened the scoring midway through the first period, converting the rebound from his own shot. In response, Vladislav Kartayev quickly tied the scores.
While Sochi looked lively, Salavat Yulaev seemed lethargic. While the home team spluttered, the visitor regained the lead in the middle frame through Sergei Popov. However, a power play late in the second period saw Alexander Kadeikin tie the scores.
At the point midway through the third period when it seemed that the scales were tipping in Ufa’s favor, young defenseman Yegor Sobolevsky weighed in with a third goal for Sochi. Then an unnecessary penalty in the closing stages looked to have finished the job for the visitor. However, Salavat Yulaev hung around on the PK and, back at full strength, tied it up through Mikhail Naumenkov with 42 seconds left to play.
However, Salavat Yulaev was unable to complete the win in overtime. Instead, Nikita Popugayev produced his fourth goal in five games to give Sochi the verdict. That’s two from three for the Leopards, and the Black Sea team has taken at least a point from four of the last five.
Macek maintains goal streak
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 Barys Astana 0 (1-0, 1-0, 0-0)
The Motormen made the most of Ufa’s defeat to move into sole possession of top spot in the East. Avtomobilist is now one point clear of both Salavat Yulaev and Metallurg after bringing home its impressive form on the road.
Nikolai Zavarukhin’s men came into the game buoyed by three straight wins from their last road trip. However, on home ice they had a point to prove after a disappointing series here at the start of the month. They also had to contend with a Barys team that showed signs of overcoming its early-season travel sickness after strong performances in Magnitogorsk and Ufa.
That renewed confidence away from home helped Barys make a lively start. A strong press from the opening shifts kept Avtomobilist in its own zone for long periods. It took more than six minutes for the home team to build any sustained pressure on Julius Hudacek’s net, but that first prolonged attack brought the opening goal from Nick Ebert.
After that, the Motormen struggled to get shots on goal. However, Barys was unable to establish a clear advantage in its play, never mind find a tying goal. Even a power play for the visitor did not help, and Avto went to the intermission with a slender lead.
In recent weeks, Brooks Macek has been in blistering form, scoring nine goals in his last six games. He extended that streak today in the second period. The home team’s press forced Ivan Mishchenko into a wayward pass, Vladimir Kuznetsov intercepted the puck and fed Macek, perfectly placed in front of Hudacek.
At the other end, the main attacking threat came from Linden Vey’s import line. However, throughout the team there were too many breakdowns in play. Apart from a brief spell at the start of the third period there was little sign of serious danger for home goalie Johan Mattsson. Avtomobilist calmly closed out the game.
Steelmen keep pace at the Eastern summit
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 Sibir Novosibirsk 2 (2-0, 1-1, 1-1)
Magnitka wrapped up its latest home stand with victory over Sibir. The game was largely decided by special teams, with the first three goals all coming while a player was in the box.
Metallurg brought Josh Currie and Yegor Korobkin back into the team, looking for both pace and power. Eddie Pasquale continued in goal, backed up by youngster Yegor Kondakov. Sibir, meanwhile, lost Evgeny Chesalin, Nikita Shashkov and Nikita Yefremov from the team that beat SKA. All three stayed home in Novosibirsk due to fitness concerns.
The action began at a frantic pace and it wasn’t long before that impacted on the players. The first power play of the game arrived in the third minute, and the opening goal came 10 seconds later. However, it was a short-handed effort from Metallurg’s Pavel Akolzin that broke the deadlock when he broke clear of the defense and fired past Anton Krasotkin. Then the Steelmen added a power play goal midway through the opening session. Brendan Leipsic got the puck to the slot and Philippe Maillet finished the job.
Sibir hit back at the start of the second period when its power play found its game. An O-zone penalty on Mikhail Fisenko led to Trevor Murphy pulling one back. Fisenko atoned late in the middle frame, scoring the first 5-on-5 goal of the game in the 35th minute. He grabbed a loose puck, brought it into the Sibir zone and put his wrist shot beyond Krasotkin to claim his first goal for his hometown team against a club he represented early in his KHL career.
The visitor kept looking for a way back into the game and built some momentum in the third period. Midway through that final stanza, Alexander Sharov was credited with a goal that restored some intrigue. It wasn’t one of his most memorable strikes though, relying on a deflection off Yaroslav Khabarov to find the net. However, Metallurg was able to close out the win, wrapping it up with an empty net goal from Andrei Chibisov 15 seconds from time.
Jaskin breaks Minsk’s resistance
SKA St. Petersburg 7 Dinamo Minsk 2 (0-0, 1-1, 6-1)
A difficult journey to the east left SKA looking forward to some home comforts. After three straight losses against Amur, Admiral and Sibir, the league leader was hoping to get back on track at home to Dinamo Minsk.
The Belarusians saw a four-game winning streak end at the weekend in a 5-8 loss at CSKA. Craig Woodcroft’s team would need to tighten up its defense here.
In the first period, it managed that. In the early stages, Dinamo created the better chances. In particular, Dmitry Nikolayev had to make a sharp save to prevent Vladimir Alistrov giving the visitor the lead. Gradually, though, the home team came into the game. Dmitrij Jaskin shoed flashes of brilliance, carving through the Minsk defense, but he was unable to finish what he started and the game was goalless at the first intermission.
After the break, Dinamo opened the scoring. Pavel Varfolomeyev surged into the SKA zone, exchanged passes with Joseph Duszak and beat Nikolayev from the slot. However, that lead was short-lived. Vasily Glotov tied it up two minutes later with a wrister from the left-hand circle that gave Konstantin Shostak no chance. Late in the middle frame, SKA thought it had the lead when Jaskin cut in from the boards and beat Shostak at the second attempt. However, the Dinamo bench successfully challenged the play and the goal was ruled out for offside.
The Czech international would not be denied, though. The penalty count began building up even in the second period, and the third period saw the SKA power play decide the outcome. When Sergei Sapego was called for tripping, Jaskin needed just six seconds to convert the chance. Moments later, Duszak went to the box and Jaskin added a third. Shell-shocked, Dinamo allowed another goal at equal strength as Valentin Zykov made it 4-1. That was three goals in 1:22, and the game was done. In the closing stages, Nikita Gusev got his third assist of the game, then added a goal of his own before the teams traded one more goal apiece to make the final score 7-2.
Defending champ puts pretender in its place
CSKA Moscow 2 Admiral Vladivostok 0 (1-0, 0-0, 1-0)
Admiral’s recent form has made the Sailors one of the talking points of the KHL. Leonids Tambijevs has steered his team to five successful victories, and you have to go back to Oct. 13 to find the last regulation-time loss for the Far East club. As a result, a team usually ranked among the Eastern Conference underdogs is pushing for a top four spot.
Form, as they say, is temporary. Class is reckoned to be permanent. Defending champion CSKA was looking to demonstrate that sporting axiom once again as it hosted a visitor on a hot streak. More urgently, the Muscovites wanted to build on Sunday’s crazy 8-5 victory over Dinamo Minsk. That result halted a three-game skid; prior to that CSKA won 12 in a row.
In the first period, Admiral played the better hockey. The visitor outshot CSKA 12-2, spent significantly longer in the opposition’s zone and won 75% of the face-offs. However, 21-year-old goalie Vsevolod Skotnikov had answers to everything the Sailors could throw at him. At the other end, a sucker punch landed midway through the session when Bogdan Kiselevich’s clearance evaded visiting defenseman Leonid Metalnikov and enabled Anton Slepyshev to get beyond the defense and score on Nikita Serebryakov.
The second period was almost a complete reverse of the first. Dominant became dominated as CSKA enjoyed more than twice as much time on offense as its visitor. That was also reflected in the shot count – 11-4 for the home team – and Admiral began to pick up penalties as the Muscovites tightened the screws. However, CSKA was unable to add to its lead and the game was firmly in the balance going into the third session.
In that final frame, though, Admiral struggled to generate any offense. The stats suggested that midway through the session, the visitor had spent just 18 seconds with the puck in CSKA territory. Inevitably, the pressure on Serebryakov’s net proved too great: a power play in the closing stages saw Fredrik Claesson double the lead and put the game out of the Sailors’ reach. In the final seconds, a penalty on Vladislav Provolnev gave the visitor a 6-on-4 advantage, but Skotnikov kept the opposition at bay to record his second career shut-out.
